RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system for discrete manufacturing: Software design and implementation

Discrete manufacturing (DM) refers to produce products in non-sequential processes so as to respond to market and customer requirements quickly under limited lead-time. However, in shop-floor management, DM companies usually confront challenges such as information gaps between different manufacturing units, slow responsiveness to customer changes, and poor visualization. The main reasons are lacking of efficient manufacturing data collection manners and software to support shop-floor management. This paper introduces an RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system (RT-MES) for improving DM shop-floor management level in the perspective of illustrating the RT-MES software design and implementation. Several contributions from this paper are significant. First, a framework of RFID-enabled RT-MES is proposed, which is generic and helpful for enterprise information system (EIS) construction. Second, a plug-universal database-aided design (PUDAD) concept and its realization are elaborated, which could reduce RT-MES development and implementation cycle. Third, an interface middleware is reported to enable RT-MES real-time intercommunication with other EISs such as SAP ERP. Fourth, a real-life case study describes how RT-MES to enhance a typical DM firm's shop-floor management, which can be referenced by other DM companies when they initiate and implement RFID-enabled solutions. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2011 IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control (ICNSC 2011), Delft, the Netherlands, 11-13 April 2011. In Proceedings of ICNSC, 2011, p. 311-31

A two-stage mechanism of viral RNA compaction revealed by single molecule fluorescence

Long RNAs often exist as multiple conformers in equilibrium. For the genomes of single-stranded RNA viruses, one of these conformers must include a compacted state allowing the RNA to be confined within the virion. We have used single molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to monitor the conformations of viral genomes and sub-fragments in the absence and presence of coat proteins. Cognate RNA-coat protein interactions in two model viruses cause a rapid collapse in the hydrodynamic radii of their respective RNAs. This is caused by protein binding at multiple sites on the RNA that facilitate additional protein-protein contacts. The collapsed species recruit further coat proteins to complete capsid assembly with great efficiency and fidelity. The specificity in RNA-coat protein interactions seen at single-molecule concentrations reflects the packaging selectivity seen for such viruses in vivo. This contrasts with many in vitro reassembly measurements performed at much higher concentrations. RNA compaction by coat protein or polycation binding are distinct processes, implying that defined RNA-coat protein contacts are required for assembly

The Effect of Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Membrane Protein 2 Expression on the Kinetics of Early B Cell Infection

Infection of human B cells with wild-type Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro leads to activation and proliferation that result in efficient production of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Latent Membrane Protein 2 (LMP2) is expressed early after infection and previous research has suggested a possible role in this process. Therefore, we generated recombinant EBV with knockouts of either or both protein isoforms, LMP2A and LMP2B (Δ2A, Δ2B, Δ2A/Δ2B) to study the effect of LMP2 in early B cell infection. Infection of B cells with Δ2A and Δ2A/Δ2B viruses led to a marked decrease in activation and proliferation relative to wild-type (wt) viruses, and resulted in higher percentages of apoptotic B cells. Δ2B virus infection showed activation levels comparable to wt, but fewer numbers of proliferating B cells. Early B cell infection with wt, Δ2A and Δ2B viruses did not result in changes in latent gene expression, with the exception of elevated LMP2B transcript in Δ2A virus infection. Infection with Δ2A and Δ2B viruses did not affect viral latency, determined by changes in LMP1/Zebra expression following BCR stimulation. However, BCR stimulation of Δ2A/Δ2B cells resulted in decreased LMP1 expression, which suggests loss of stability in viral latency. Long-term outgrowth assays revealed that LMP2A, but not LMP2B, is critical for efficient long-term growth of B cells in vitro. The lowest levels of activation, proliferation, and LCL formation were observed when both isoforms were deleted. These results suggest that LMP2A appears to be critical for efficient activation, proliferation and survival of EBV-infected B cells at early times after infection, which impacts the efficient long-term growth of B cells in culture. In contrast, LMP2B did not appear to play a significant role in these processes, and long-term growth of infected B cells was not affected by the absence of this protein. © 2013 Wasil et al

Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more

Neutrophils are indispensable antagonists of microbial infection and facilitators of wound healing. In the cancer setting, a newfound appreciation for neutrophils has come into view. The traditionally held belief that neutrophils are inert bystanders is being challenged by the recent literature. Emerging evidence indicates that tumours manipulate neutrophils, sometimes early in their differentiation process, to create diverse phenotypic and functional polarization states able to alter tumour behaviour. In this Review, we discuss the involvement of neutrophils in cancer initiation and progression, and their potential as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets

Anti-MUC1 Monoclonal Antibody (C595) and Docetaxel Markedly Reduce Tumor Burden and Ascites, and Prolong Survival in an in vivo Ovarian Cancer Model

MUC1 is associated with cellular transformation and tumorigenicity and is considered as an important tumor-associated antigen (TAA) for cancer therapy. We previously reported that anti-MUC1 monoclonal antibody C595 (MAb C595) plus docetaxel (DTX) increased efficacy of DTX alone and caused cultured human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells to undergo apoptosis. To further study the mechanisms of this combination-mediated apoptosis, we investigated the effectiveness of this combination therapy in vivo in an intraperitoneal (i.p.) EOC mouse model. OVCAR-3 cells were implanted intraperitoneally in female athymic nude mice and allowed to grow tumor and ascites. Mice were then treated with single MAb C595, DTX, combination test (MAb C595 and DTX), combination control (negative MAb IgG3 and DTX) or vehicle control i.p for 3 weeks. Treated mice were killed 4 weeks post-treatment. Ascites volume, tumor weight, CA125 levels from ascites and survival of animals were assessed. The expression of MUC1, CD31, Ki-67, TUNEL and apoptotic proteins in tumor xenografts was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. MAb C595 alone inhibited i.p. tumor growth and ascites production in a dose-dependent manner but did not obviously prevent tumor development. However, combination test significantly reduced ascites volume, tumor growth and metastases, CA125 levels in ascites and improved survival of treated mice compared with single agent-treated mice, combination control or vehicle control-treated mice (P<0.05). The data was in a good agreement with that from cultured cells in vitro. The mechanisms behind the observed effects could be through targeting MUC1 antigens, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, and induction of apoptosis. Our results suggest that this combination approach can effectively reduce tumor burden and ascites, prolong survival of animals through induction of tumor apoptosis and necrosis, and may provide a potential therapy for advanced metastatic EOC

Solitary waves in the Nonlinear Dirac Equation

In the present work, we consider the existence, stability, and dynamics of solitary waves in the nonlinear Dirac equation. We start by introducing the Soler model of self-interacting spinors, and discuss its localized waveforms in one, two, and three spatial dimensions and the equations they satisfy. We present the associated explicit solutions in one dimension and numerically obtain their analogues in higher dimensions. The stability is subsequently discussed from a theoretical perspective and then complemented with numerical computations. Finally, the dynamics of the solutions is explored and compared to its non-relativistic analogue, which is the nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation. A few special topics are also explored, including the discrete variant of the nonlinear Dirac equation and its solitary wave properties, as well as the PT-symmetric variant of the model

Adrenal adenomatoid tumor in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus

We present the clinical course of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus and an adrenal adenomatoid tumor (AAT). We describe the clinical course and laboratory, radiographic, and microscopic findings of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and an adenomatoid tumor of the right adrenal gland. A review of the literature was also done via electronic searches through PubMed for articles from 1965 to 2008 that contained the following search terms, adenomatoid tumor limited to the English language only. A 22 year-old African-American male with HIV was incidentally found to have a hypermetabolic right adrenal mass. The patient underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy and the mass had morphological and immunohistochemical features that were consistent with an AAT. A review of the medical literature reveals that almost all cases of AAT were in male patients (96%) with a mean age of 41±11 years (range=22–64) with no significant difference in laterality (right side=46%, left side=50%, unknown=4%). AAT have an average size of 4.2±3.5 cm (range=0.5–14.3 cm). Pre-operative imaging studies do not appear to be able to reliably distinguish AAT from other types of adrenocortical tumors. For reasons that require further research, AAT typically occur in male patients and may be associated with immunosuppression. AAT can be safely removed laparoscopically with no evidence of long-term recurrence even with tumor extension beyond the adrenal capsule

Pleural fluid soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 as a marker of bacterial infection: a meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pleural infection is a common clinical problem. Its successful treatment depends on rapid diagnosis and early initiation of antibiotics. The measurement of soluble triggering receptor expressed in myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) level in pleural effusions has proven to be a valuable diagnostic tool for differentiating bacterial effusions from effusions of other etiologies. Herein, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of pleural fluid sTREM-1 in the diagnosis of bacterial infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched Web of Knowledge and Medline from 1990 through March 2011 for studies reporting diagnostic accuracy data regarding the use of sTREM-1 in the diagnosis of bacterial pleural effusions. Pooled sensitivity and specificity and summary measures of accuracy and Q* were calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, the sensitivity of sTREM-1was 78% (95% CI: 72%-83%); the specificity was 84% (95% CI: 80%-87%); the positive likelihood ratio was 6.0 (95% CI: 3.3-10.7); and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.22 (95% CI: 0.12-0.40). The area under the SROC curve for sTREM-1 was 0.92. Statistical heterogeneity and inconsistency were found for sensitivity (p = 0.015, χ²= 15.73, I²= 61.9%), specificity (p = 0.000, χ²= 29.90, I²= 79.9%), positive likelihood ratio (p = 0.000, χ²= 33.09, I²= 81.9%), negative likelihood ratio (p = 0.008, χ²= 17.25, I²= 65.2%), and diagnostic odds ratio (p = 0.000, χ²= 28.49, I²= 78.9%). A meta-regression analysis performed showed that the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies score (p = 0.3245; RDOR, 4.34; 95% CI, 0.11 to 164.01), the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy score (p = 0.3331; RDOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 0.44 to 6.52), lack of blinding (p = 0.7439; RDOR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.01 to 33.80), and whether the studies were prospective or retrospective studies (p = 0.2068; RDOR, 7.44; 95% CI, 0.18 to 301.17) did not affect the test accuracy. A funnel plot for publication bias suggested a remarkable trend of publication bias.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that sTREM-1 has a good diagnostic accuracy and may provide a useful adjunctive tool for the diagnosis of bacterial pleural effusions. However, further studies are needed in order to identify any differences in the diagnostic performance of sTREM-1 of parapneumonic effusions and empyemas.</p